Genealogy | A Common Grace

Proof of Lineal Descent from Persons Enslaved in Culpeper, Rappahannock, and Madison Counties, Virginia Prior to the End of the Civil War in 1865

A. Descendants of Persons Enslaved by John Kilby of Culpeper County, VA and by his lineal descendants in Culpeper, Rappahannock and Madison counties, VA

The initial information posted here documents these “recognized family trees”: 1. Enslavers in the Family of John and Elizabeth Kilby 2. Descendants of persons enslaved by Thomas Kilby (John’s grandson) and his wife Malinda Hawkins Kilby – Sarah and Juliet Ann

1. Enslavers in the Family of John and Elizabeth Kilby

Our research to date demonstrates that the persons shown in orange on this chart were documented enslavers. The names of enslaved persons we have been able to identify are shown in italics in the same box with their enslavers. If you can prove, using the Standards for Genealogical Proof provided below, lineal descent from one of these named enslaved persons on this “recognized family tree,” then you will have shown that you are eligible for a Kilby Family Scholarship. Preference is given to applicants descended from persons enslaved by these Kilbys. (Note: If you have documentation of Kilby enslavers that we have missed, please send a note to the website administrator using the Contact page.)

2. Descendants of persons enslaved by Thomas Kilby and his wife Malinda Hawkins Kilby – Sarah and Juliet Ann

This genealogical chart, a “recognized family tree,” documents our research to date on the descendants of Sarah and her daughter Juliet Ann, who were enslaved by Thomas Kilby (John Kilby’s grandson) and Malinda Hawkins Kilby. (Thomas and Malinda are shown in orange on the “recognized family tree” #1. above. Sarah and Juliet Ann are shown in italics within Thomas’ and Malinda’s orange boxes.) If you can prove, using the Standards for Genealogical Proof provided below, lineal descent from any one of the named persons on this “recognized family tree,” then you will have shown that you are eligible for a Kilby Family Scholarship. Note that the names of living persons are not shown on the chart to protect their privacy. They are designated “private,” and only their gender is provided. If you think that you are descended from one of these persons, please send a note offering the person’s name to the website administrator using the Contact page. We may already have their documentation in hand, and you may only need provide proof of lineal descent from them even though they are not named.

In addition, Juliet’s tree has been posted on Ancestry.com. If you do not have an account with Ancestry, you can likely access the tree through your local library. This tree is for research only, but is updated often. If you find a relative on the Ancestry tree but not on the “recognized tree” posted on this website, then please notify this website’s administrator using the Contact page.

On-going research is continuing to discover other people who were enslaved by John Kilby of Culpeper County, Virginia (1715 – 1772), and by his lineal descendants, who were enslavers, and people who are descendants of those enslaved people. As additional research is completed on persons enslaved by Kilbys, it will be posted on this A Common Grace genealogy page.

B. Descendants of Persons Enslaved by Other Enslavers in Culpeper, Rappahannock and Madison counties, VA

Website administrators will keep and post documentation of other persons enslaved in Culpeper, Rappahannock and Madison counties, Virginia, prior to the end of the Civil War in 1865 and their descendants, as descendants of those enslaved persons supply their genealogical data using the Standards for Genealogical Proof provided below. Descendants of persons enslaved by Kilbys are given priority for scholarships, but descendants of other persons enslaved in Culpeper, Rappahannock and Madison counties, Virginia, may be eligible secondarily.

Standards for Genealogical Proof of Lineal Descent from a Person Enslaved by John Kilby of Culpeper County, Virginia (c. 1715 – 1772) and/or His Lineal Descendants or by Another Enslaver Living in Culpeper, Rappahannock or Madison Counties, VA

The person applying for a Kilby Endowed Scholarship and attempting to prove lineal descent shall provide:

Pedigree chart that illustrates your line of descent produced by hand or with chart making software;
Official records (birth certificates, death certificates, marriage certificates) documenting each person on the pedigree chart and connecting you, your parents, grandparents, and previous generations to the enslaved person;
Documents that prove the residence of the enslaved person in Culpeper, Rappahannock or Madison counties, VA;
If you can connect to a person whose name is shown on a “recognized family tree” described on the Our Common Grace website, then you need only to provide the pedigree chart and official records that show your connection to that person;
Other records as described in the following paragraph.

It is often difficult for African Americans to demonstrate descent from persons living prior to 1865 because of the paucity of official records for enslaved people. You therefore must be resourceful in your research and provide copies of multiple documents to connect the enslaved person to your family. Examples of such documents include U.S. census records, written slave narratives and letters, funeral programs, undertaker records, obituaries, family bibles, post-emancipation “cohabitation lists” registering slave marriages, land records, farm and household inventories and records, bills of sale, wills, estate inventories, estate sales, court cases, personal property and real estate tax records, church records, written family histories, and newspaper notices and accounts. Many of these records will be among those of the enslaver(s). For help in conducting your research, consider consulting the website OurBlackAncestry.com. The tutorial, including its PowerPoint presentation, is particularly helpful.

In conducting your research, follow:

“Standards for Sound Genealogical Research” recommended by the National Genealogical Society:

Remembering always that they are engaged in a quest for truth, family history researchers consistently—

* record the source for each item of information they collect.

* test every hypothesis or theory against credible evidence, and reject those that are not supported by the evidence.

* seek original records, or reproduced images of them when there is reasonable assurance they have not been altered, as the basis for their research conclusions.

* use compilations, communications and published works, whether paper or electronic, primarily for their value as guides to locating the original records, or as contributions to the critical analysis of the evidence discussed in them.

* state something as a fact only when it is supported by convincing evidence, and identify the evidence when communicating the fact to others.

* limit with words like “probable” or “possible” any statement that is based on less than convincing evidence, and state the reasons for concluding that it is probable or possible.

* avoid misleading other researchers by either intentionally or carelessly distributing or publishing inaccurate information.

* state carefully and honestly the results of their own research, and acknowledge all use of other researchers’ work.

* recognize the collegial nature of genealogical research by making their work available to others through publication, or by placing copies in appropriate libraries or repositories, and by welcoming critical comment.

* consider with open minds new evidence or the comments of others on their work and the conclusions they have reached.